November Fun

Today was EJ’s extra birthday celebration so he got to decide how to spend the day. It’s rather fun calling our weekend adventures our “birthday celebrations” because it focuses us on taking turns celebrating each other and it feels more special than just thinking of them as fun weekends. EJ remarked today that for years he had to work almost every weekend. I told him that we have to have fun every weekend to make up for all the years that he didn’t have them off.

EJ wasn’t sure what he wanted to do for his extra birthday and we had a lot of errands to run so we decided to do our errands and be spontaneous at the same time. We have fun together even just shopping.

EJ’s lockers

I didn’t sleep well last night–this time the cat were not to blame–and I overslept a bit. As soon as I woke up, I had to rush to feed the hungry cats and take care of the complaining ducks and clucking chickens. When I came back into the house, I took my shower and rushed to eat a quick breakfast so we could be on our way. EJ had gotten out of bed long before I did, so while I was getting ready, he found someone at a local buy and sell group at Facebook who was giving away a section of school lockers. EJ contacted the guy, was given his address, and off we went to pick up the lockers. The drive was beautiful. But, then, there is no place in Northern Michigan that is not a beautiful drive. Once we reached the guy’s house, he and EJ loaded the lockers in the suburban. The lockers were quite heavy and well made. EJ is creating an office area in his garage, and he is going to use the lockers for both storage and as a “room divider” to divide his office from the rest of the garage.

Our next stop was at a farm store. It is not the one we usually go to. It’s actually quite a distance, but this farm store sells 50 lb bags of dry cat food for a decent price. We can’t find the large bags at other feed stores. We bought two so we don’t have to worry about running out during the winter. We also bought a bag of dog food. We had planned to buy straw bales as well, but we didn’t have room with the lockers.

A huge fly!

After we left the farm store, we drove toward our favorite Goodwill. We had only driven a few blocks and were stopped at a stoplight when I gasped, “Look! That is the BIGGEST fly I’ve ever seen!” EJ exclaimed, “Where?” I pointed to a building where a huge fake fly was resting. We laughed. EJ said he wished he could buy that fly. I think it would be so cool to put it in our forest to scare trespassers. Ha ha!

We meandered through Goodwill. EJ found a nice lazy boy chair that is more comfortable than his current chair, so we bought it for him. It is his extra birthday, after all. If he hadn’t bought it for him, I would have bought it for me. EJ was willing to give it to me, but I said that today is his birthday–and he needs a comfortable chair for his poor back. We bought a few other items as well. We couldn’t fit the chair in the suburban along with the locker and large bags of pet food so we asked the store to reserve it for us. We drove home, unloaded the lockers and pet food, said “hi” to JJ, and drove back to Goodwill to pick up EJ’s chair.

Then, because it’s EJ’s extra birthday, we stopped to eat at Culver’s. I love our local Culver’s because it’s right across the street from the beautiful bay. We always try to get a table where we can admire the view.

Our Culver’s view

After Culver’s, we drove to TSC where we bought another roll of snow fencing, poultry feed, and a box of canned cat food. I divide a portion of canned food among the cats in the mornings as a special treat.

Then we drove home and unloaded everything. We moved the little puzzle table from the living room into the library, moved EJ’s old chair to where the table used to be, and put the new chair in place. We might give EJ’s old chair to JJ when he moves out–or not. It looks pretty good where it is now.

After everything was unloaded, we hopped back into the suburban and drove to the local hardware store where EJ bought his hunting licenses. We also bought four bales of straw. I use straw for bedding in the coop and I’m buying extra to use as insulation for the winter. I’d like to buy more to last the winter but that’s going to have to wait until next payday.

On the way home from the hardware store, we stopped at the grocery store to buy groceries. JJ was working today, and he came over to say “hi.” He gave the store his two weeks notice today. Soon he will be working as a security guard at the mall.

Finally, we got home. We unloaded the groceries and while I put them away, EJ unloaded the straw bales into the garage. When I finished putting away the groceries, I went out to the coop to gather eggs. I lugged two bales of straw out to the coop, but I was really tired by then so I didn’t try to do more. I came inside, washed the day’s dishes, and finally relaxed.

It was a very busy day, and a tiring one, but EJ and I had tons of fun.